Impasse
by Dana Hale
Summary: Another post-4x06 "Countdown" idea on how the next Nathan/Audrey scene could play out. One-shot.


Disclaimer: No infringement intended. Haven is is owned by Sam Ernst, Jim Dunn and Syfy.

* * *

It was like the Bronco made its way to The Gull on its own, with Nathan driving absent-mindedly behind the wheel. Why was he so stunned to hear her say out loud what he already knew? His heart was about to burst.

They were at an impasse. He loved her too much to let her go. She loved him too much to let him go. It seems the Troubles are fated to stay and the Guard still wants him dead. What the hell were they supposed to do now?

Pulling into the parking lot, he half-hoped that maybe she wasn't home. But it was too late to chicken out now. He was here, and the soft glow of the light shining through her apartment window beckoned him like the beam of the lighthouse, centering his sights on the horizon of the porch as he made his way up the steps that led to her door.

He reached out a fist to apply a gently knock, but the sound of a piano stopped him short. Peering through the sheer curtains of the French doors, he saw Audrey sitting at her piano, hands delicately poised and floating over the keys, playing the most beautiful melody Nathan had ever heard. It was soft and serene. Calming. He watched her closely as her body moved and swayed to the phrasing of the music as each measure ebbed and flowed from her fingers.

After a while, Nathan rested his head against the door frame, listening intently. He knew he was intruding in on her private moment of solitude, but he was mesmerized by the sight and sound. She played every note with her heart, and he would savor any glimpse into her soul that he could get. As he stood there, the melody built up to a gorgeous crescendo only to be brought back down to a state of peace as the last note faded and drifted away to silence.

Audrey lifted her hands from the keyboard and breathed in deeply. But then all of the sudden she sensed someone was watching her. Nathan saw her quickly grab her gun off from the top of the piano and aim it at the door.

"Who's there?" she boldly asked in her cop voice.

"Just me," Nathan calmly replied.

With gun still in hand but drawn down, she sauntered over to open the door.

"Hey," she said, giving him a look like she had just been caught with her hand in the cookie jar. "How long have you been standing there?"

He stared at her forgetting that it was his turn to talk. She waited for him to reply, looking relaxed in her yoga pants and showing some skin in her tank top, her long hair cascading around her face. There he went again feeling all tongue-tied. "Hey. Um, sorry…I couldn't help but listen…that was…that was…beautiful."

"Thanks," Audrey replied. "I'm glad I discovered I could play. Helps me to get out of my head and not think about how crazy my life is." She stared down at her bare feet as another awkward moment of silence passed between them.

"Uh, can I come in?" he finally asked her.

"Oh. Yeah…" She motioned him in. "Do you want something to drink? I could make you a Screaming Orgasm."

He cleared his throat. "A what?"

She laughed at the horrified look on his face. "Just another one of Lexie's bad jokes."

Nathan narrowed his eyes and shook his head in amusement. "No, I'm good."

"Well alright then."

As Nathan found a spot on the couch to sit, Audrey gently slid herself down on the end cushion and curled her legs under her so she could face him. The silent eye contact they had with each other was starting to burn his eyes with emotion. He couldn't believe that he was staring at _Audrey_.

"Look, Audrey-"

She suddenly cut him off. "I swear, Nathan, if you ask me one more time to kill you-"

"No- I…"

Before he could say anything further, she grabbed his hand and shoved her gun in his palm, positioning the barrel straight on her heart.

"Because this is what it feels like, Nathan. Could you pull the trigger if I asked you to?"

Nathan fidgeted uncomfortably as he stared at the gun pointed into her chest. A sick feeling rose from deep within the pit of his stomach.

"Pull the trigger, Nathan," Audrey dared. "_Please."_

"STOP!" Nathan yelled and jumped up from the couch. "Just… stop!"

She stared at him as he nervously paced the floor in front of her. He took a deep breath and continued. "I didn't come here to ask you to-" He shook his head and started over. "For six months I thought you were DEAD. I thought I killed you. Walking into that barn, you would have forgotten about me. But I can't forget you. I know what it's like to live without you and I never want to go through that again."

"And yet you're glad to have me back- so I can KILL you. You make a lot of sense, Nathan."

"Now _you're_ the one who's wrong, Audrey. I want nothing more than to be here with you. But I am willing to give my life so that you won't have to keep sacrificing yours. And it's the only way to end the Troubles forever-"

"YOU DON'T KNOW THAT! The game has changed. I still came back as Audrey even though for a moment there in the barn I was Lexie. That's never happened before- I've never come back the same person that I was before. Howard's dead. The barn is destroyed. And now there's this William guy. There could be a whole new set of rules we don't even know about. I've been thinking….maybe instead of messing things up, maybe you made it better. Maybe you gave us a second chance. Bought us some time. What if there is a way to end the troubles without either one of us having to let the other go?"

That shut him up and gave them both a moment of reprieve from the intensity this conversation was taking.

Sitting back down next to her, he grabbed her hands in his and squeezed, relishing the feel of her.

"I came here to tell you I'm glad you're back because I love you. I missed you _so much_."

He quickly moved into her personal space and crashed his lips into hers. She instantly complied and melted into him, falling deeper and deeper. The passion of the kiss became too great, and Audrey broke away first, resting her forehead against his.

"We're quite the pair, aren't we?" she asked with slight sarcasm to slow things down while catching her breath.

Nathan hid his frustration with the fact that she pulled out of the kiss. He definitely liked where it was headed. He let out a soft laugh and brushed her hair back behind her ear. "The Chief told me not to fall in love with you."

Her eyes lit up in surprise. "When?"

"That day I saw him in the graveyard. Pretty much told him he was wasting his time."

"You two always had to argue about something, didn't you?"

"Guess so."

"He's right, though. Things would have been easier."

"Too late. Couldn't help it. So what are we going to do now? I take it you have a Plan C. Or Plan D, or…whatever we're up to."

"Nathan, for just tonight can we not think about it?"

She moved back closer to him and nestled into his chest as he wrapped his arms around her.

He barely heard her muffle the words, "I could make pancakes—for breakfast."

"Okay, but no spiked coffee. Or handcuffs."

"Hey, you might like it, Detective Wo-har-nose."

He kissed the top of her head and smiled.

* * *

From under the shadows, Vince sat in his old car a few yards away from the Gull. With the Bronco parked for the night and the light turning out in Audrey's apartment, he knew the truth.


End file.
